FEATURE RECORDING In The Studio & On The Radio
Sign up for your digital AM at
www.audiomedia.com
sounds. Somewhere between the old Townhouse and a 1970s Westlake room. I guess it’s to do with the way the board is put together; it breathes a bit and gives a crisp, punchy drum sound.”
KIT LIST
Te studio is home to Levine’s considerable collection of microphones old and new which get used regularly. “It’s good to show young bands alternative ways of mic’ing,” he adds. Te desk is a Yamaha DM 2000 – “It more than suits my need at present, though I might upgrade to a larger format console in the future.” Levine records ‘almost exclusively’
Starting as a trainee tape-op at CBS studios in 1975, Steve Levine progressed to in-house engineer and worked with many now classic new wave and punk acts such as Te Clash, Te Jags, Te Vibrators, and XTC, as well as many of CBS records’ pop acts, including Sailor. Beach Boy, Bruce Johnson was to play an important part in Levine’s early career, culminating with Levine producing an album for the Beach Boys several years later. Levine produced all of Culture Club’s classic hits and the band’s three multi- platinum albums. Since then he has worked with a wide spectrum of artists and composed a number of film scores. Artist collaborations include Honeyz, China Crisis, Gary Moore, Ziggy Marley, Louise, Te Creatures, Lemmy & Motörhead, David Grant, Westworld, Mis-teeq, Alsou, 911, and Grief Never Grows Old (the
official DEC Tsunami record). Levine’s radio production company Magnum Opus Broadcasting produces several shows for the BBC; in particular, Te Record Producers – a radio documentary series for BBC Radio 2. Tis acclaimed series focuses on the art of record production from the producer’s perspective. Shows aired so far have featured producers Trevor Horn, Arif Mardin, Nile Rodgers, Bob Clearmountain & Tony Visconti, and Hugh Padgham. As a direct result of the success of this initial series, the BBC commissioned a second series, Production Teams; Swain & Jolley, Langer & Winstanley, Holland Dozier & Holland, Gamble & Huff, Stock, Aitken & Waterman, and Jam & Lewis were featured in this series. A third series included Mick Jones, Brian Wilson, Roy Wood, and 10cc. More are on the way.
into Logic. “I have Pro Tools and have also recently been using Ableton. Tere’s quite a nice electronic scene up here and lots of those artists use Live. You have to have Pro Tools as it is pretty much a universal standard. When it comes to the mixing end, you need the touch and feel of old- school mixing. Te fact you’re working in a digital environment is almost irrelevant as long as it feels creative. I wouldn’t change that way of mixing. With the occasional exception, I don’t like mixing in the box with mice and faders.”
And so to the inevitable question:
Is there going to be a new Culture Club album and will Levine be involved? “I’ve always had a close relationship with George. We’ve done some songwriting together and there’s a lot of love between all of us. George has his solo career, which is doing
very well – and currently getting amazing reviews. Tere’s a lot of will to do another record, how far I will be involved is uncertain, maybe just a couple of tracks. I am doing some separate things with George anyway. I’m doing a really big thing with George in August, it’s a big deal, but the paperwork is not signed yet... “If the band want to do studio
recordings I’d love to be involved. Tere are various possibilities in the pipeline. What’s good now is that Jazz Summers is managing them. I have met with Jazz a couple of times. Tere’s a lot of good will and we all get on well, but if they want another producer that’s fine. It has to be the right producer to work with them. Tere’s only a few that probably could stand it, because it’s not quite a normal session. I’d be happy to do one track or no tracks, whatever. Tere were no hard feelings. When they were recording with Arif in Switzerland, I was working with Quarterflash at Miravel Studios in Provence. Whatever happens, it’s all going to be down to having the right material. “George’s voice is much deeper and
richer now. And he could always sing in tune. Look at all that X Factor stuff. None of them have got the presence of a proper artist. George is one of a handful of artists that has that level of showmanship backed up with quality performance. If something does come off it will be amazing, after all it is our anniversary year – 20 years ago we all got our Brits.”
www.stevelevine.co.uk
For regular updates on the Studio sector sign up to receive Audio Media’s Studio Newsletter at
www.audiomedia.com/newslettersignup
24 May 2014
www.audiomedia.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48